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The Indianapolis Motor Speedway prides itself on its fire rescue and medical response teams that arrive to the scene of an accident within seconds. But how do they get that good? On Behind the Bricks, IMS President Doug Boles takes you through the annual Motorsports Safety Training at IMS, which features specific training scenarios for INDYCAR, NASCAR, IMSA and more to make sure every driver at IMS is safe. Watch Video>
On this episode of Doug and Drivers, 2022 Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson sits down with Doug Boles to talk about the pain of coming so close to scoring back-to-back wins, how he wanted to compete on ovals after his Formula 1 career and the transition to Andretti Global. Watch Video>
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March 04, 2020 | By Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge fans soon will see the most anticipated color of late winter – light blue – in their mailboxes, yet another sign the magical Month of May is just around the corner. The initial ticket mailing, sent in the famous light-blue envelopes from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Ticket Office, started today for the 104th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 24. In a new addition to the time-honored tradition, Bronze Badges also were mailed to customers today. Federal postal inspectors come to IMS with a large truck for the first mailing, and many IMS employees pitch in to help load the truck Wednesday, including IMS President J. Douglas Boles. It takes approximately nine weeks to package all pre-ordered tickets for mailing, from orders the day after the previous year’s race up to current orders. Hard work from employees in the Ticket Office and other IMS and IMS Productions departments ensure the ticketing process runs smoothly and on schedule. A few facts and figures about this year’s initial ticket mailing:
Approximately 1,200 packages containing approximately 2,000 Bronze Badges also began to be mailed today. Bronze Badges have become coveted keepsakes that grant fans access to the Gasoline Alley garage area every day during the Month of May except for Race Days for the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge and GMR Grand Prix. Receiving an eagerly awaited blue envelope in the mail is a rite of spring for thousands of fans of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” But why are the envelopes blue? In the 1970s, Indianapolis 500 tickets were mailed in brown envelopes with the IMS return address in the upper left corner. In the 1980s, a heavier-stock, gray-colored envelope was introduced to mail the tickets, with just the IMS Post Office box number in the upper left corner. A computerized printer also was used for the first time in the 1980s to print ticket customers’ name and address on each envelope. When the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard was added to the IMS schedule in 1994, the Ticket Office needed a way to distinguish between the envelopes containing tickets for the Indianapolis 500 and the annual NASCAR race, especially if the Postal Service returned the envelope as non-deliverable. So, the IMS Ticket Office decided to color-code the ticket envelopes for each event. Indianapolis 500 ticket envelopes became blue, Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard envelopes became purple, GMR Grand Prix envelopes became green, and ticket envelopes for other IMS events use a variety of colors, including red, cream, gray and yellow. Tickets for the 104th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 24, the GMR Grand Prix on Saturday, May 9 and all other Month of May events are available at IMS.com or the IMS Ticket Office at 317-492-6700.